Christie deserves praise for Sandy

Indications were there, it's not shocking that Gov. Chris Christie would seek another term; the only real surprise was how early the announcement came. It gets back to that old adage that timing is everything.

No New Jersey governor ever had such good timing on his side. Quinnipiac University, which has one of the most respected polls in the country, said New Jersey voters think Christie deserves another term by a margin of 67-25 percent. The only group opposed to a second term is Democrats and they are opposed by a slim 46-41 percent. Quinnipiac said Christie's 72 percent approval rating is higher than that achieved by any other Garden State governor.

A Rutgers-Eagleton poll showed the all-important independents support Christie for reelection by 66 percent. Blacks oppose him by 62 percent, even that's a big improvement over the 81 percent opposed to his reelection in the previous poll. Hispanic voters support his reelection by 51-46 percent.

When matched against the frequently mentioned Democratic opponents it looks like this in the Quinnipiac poll:

? 53 - 35 percent over Newark Mayor Cory Booker;

? 57 - 30 percent over State Sen. Richard Codey;

? 61 - 23 percent over State Sen. Barbara Buono;

? 62 - 20 percent over Assemblyman Lou Greenwald;

? 62 - 21 percent over Assemblyman John Wisniewski.

If a Democratic primary were held now, Booker would dominate with 41 percent of the vote, followed by Codey with 12 percent. No other candidate tops 4 percent. The national media, always looking for a good fight, will encourage Booker to get in although the former Stanford football star and Rhodes Scholar would probably be a better fit in the U.S. Senate where his speaking ability, common sense, brain power and embrace of progressive issues would make him a star. Frank Lautenberg's seat is up in 2014 and there doesn't seem to be a lot of enthusiasm about keeping him.

The biggest factor in Christie's high poll numbers is the favorable impression voters had over his handling of superstorm Sandy which gained him the national reputation as the "Can Do" governor. Negative attributes often assigned to him seem trivial now. When you have a guy with the energy to work 19 hours a day, it doesn't matter what he weighs. In retrospect, his ordering people off the beach was less the act of a bully than that of a man in charge who saved thousands of lives. Through it all he kept his sense of humor. Uncontrollable and unpredictable circumstances tested Christie and he passed big time.

It was a combination of leadership, compassion and bipartisanship, the latter best demonstrated by the governor's generous and well deserved praise for President Barack Obama. That some Republicans were unhappy with his words only served to make Christie look like the adult in the room. It will come in handy should the governor realize the dream he has had since the second grade when he told a teacher out by the flag pole he was going to be president some day.

Christie deserves all the praise he got for his handling of the October disaster. When he announced he would seek a second term he said he wanted to complete the job he started including rebuilding New Jersey after the storm that destroyed 30,000 homes and businesses and caused $37 billion in damage.

His good standing at this point may cause some to reconsider getting into the governor's race in 2013, but in reality the time between now and next November is a decade in political time. Fortunes come and go quickly in the public arena. Voters are fickle.

No politician is immune from campaign attacks. From people he appointed to his personal associations and positions taken plus the lagging economic condition of New Jersey will be subject to examination and perhaps exploitation. He won't have unpopular former Gov. Jon Corzine to kick around this time and Democratic turnout could rise to previous levels.

Expect the national Democrats to pump a lot of money into New Jersey to embarrass him or defeat him or weaken him with an eye toward 2016. There are only two gubernatorial elections next year, ours and Virginia's. Some see them as an indication of what the people think about the direction of the next presidential race. The Republicans have their backs against the wall, if they lose a third presidential election in a row, by 2020 no one will take them seriously.

A recent Public Policy Polling poll showed 33 percent of N.J. voters want Christie to run for president in 2016, while 44 percent don't. Christie will be asked many times whether he will guarantee if he wins he will complete the second term rather than run for the White House.

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Christie deserves praise for Sandy

Indications were there, it's not shocking that Gov. Chris Christie would seek another term; the only real surprise was how early the announcement came. It gets back to that old adage that timing is

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